Here in Montreal this month is pretty big for me as two major productions are going on. Sci-Fi film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code, and Juan Diego Solanas' romance drama Upside Down starring Kirsten Dunst. Being a film production student at Concordia University in downtown Montreal I was wondering if anyone knew any ways to potentially get on set as an extra? anything really? I don't want this opportunity to pass, just to watch the production of a big budget movie would be amazing to me!

Ask one of your instructors if he knows anyone, or can get you in as an intern.


Phil

If you have time to work on it, just call the production office and talk to the key PA.  You'll be able to convince him or her to take you into Locations.  Just be pushy and confident.  

If you want to be an extra...they're probably already cast, but you can always call and ask.

If you do take a job, I guarantee you endless, uncomfortable boredom.  Personally, I'd just find out where they're shooting and go by for a quick look.  Unless you're looking for a job anyway.

Phil's point is a very good one.  Your instructors probably know somebody too.  

Kev,

I think it depends on whether it's an open or closed set...

A little story - they filmed "Goodfellas" all over my old neighborhood. So one day I stayed home because a family friend knew the owner of the restaurant where they filmed the "shine box" scenes...

So I went with what would in retrospect be considered a very awful, amateurish version of my screenplay tucked firmly under arm, dropped a name, made friends with the girl doing security (she was cute though), and hoped to make a contact.

I saw the guy with the ugly green suit and the woman in the red dress get set up at the bar.  It was awesome! Then I heard someone radio out to the trailer - "Marty needs to check wardrobe" - I thought "holy crap, they're talking about Scorsese!"

Then someone bellowed "all non-essential personnel off the set" and then someone pointed to me. "Who is he?" they asked. And the security girl said "Aw, he can't stay?"

No, I couldn't stay.  At the time, Goodfellas was ours - meaning, it was my neighborhood's movie, because only we knew about it. Now, almost 20 years later, it's iconic.

AJR

Anthony

Wow, that is a story. The shine box scene is indeed legendary. As the old cliché goes "One to tell the grand kids" or in this case, SS members. Very cool, sir, very cool.

I presume it was filmed in Hell's kitchen, you must have seen a lot of films being shot there?

Col,

No, the shine box scenes were filmed in a town in the borough of Queens called Maspeth (anyone who's read my feature is now connecting the dots) in a restaurant called Spartan's (long since gone).  The scene where they torch the place is the outside of Spartan's as well.

And the "Spider" scenes were filmed at the local V.F.W. Hall on Grand Avenue. Also, the scene where DeNiro gets the news about Pesci (he slams the pay phone) was filmed at the Clinton Diner on the outskirts of Maspeth.

It was definitely a cool time, however I didn't spend as much time around the sets as I would have liked to. I was one of the few out of my degenerate crew who had a job at the time. Some of my friends were able to hang around all day and got plenty of glimpses of DeNiro, Pesci, etc.

The other notable film shot very near where I grew up was "Coming To America" - the McDowell's restaurant was an actual Burger King (or Wendy's?) on Queens Boulevard, very near the Queens Center Mall. I lived less than 5 minutes on back alley streets from there, and back when I ate that crap, those were my fast food restaurants of choice.

Anthony

I'm confusing the fact that Scorses and De Niro are from there, my bad. I actually have a close friend who is engaged to a girl from Maspeth in Queens he met when over for a summer. He's living over there with her now. He used to work in a massive cemetery building those upright graves. I know, a morbid subject and there are probably tonnes of them around your area. This was one big a?s cemetery though, the beauty of Google earth, eh.

Hey Col,

I know you don't read too many features, or enjoy comedy ones at that, but you should check out "Grand Avenue" if you want the flavor of that area and of the times (okay, blatant plug over).

I'm unashamedly direct in some of my descriptions of locations. I borrowed pretty liberally from some "characters" I knew back then as well...

AJR

Anthony

I actually do read a lot of features, just not many from this site I will admit and its something I want to address in future. I'm actually in the process of writing my own at the moment so I want to discipline myself till the first draft is knocked out. I will definitely check out yours, just can't guarantee you when exactly. In other words, don't hold your breath. :-/

Its not that I have an aversion to comedy either, its more like the mainstream goofing off stuff that clogs the box office is not my thing...at all, really can't stomach it, find the most of it to be cringyworthy bad.

I know we are going off topic from Kev's original question, apologises, dude.

Col.

True, we did hijack this thread, so my apologies, and let's get back on point...

Kev, if you  haven't already I would join IMDB Pro. Then look at the "in production" slate of projects, and often times they'll have shoot locations listed. If one is near you perhaps you can finagle a spot on set in ways some of the others have suggested.

I do think though, as I said earlier, that it matters whether or not it's a closed set.

hey thanks for the ideas guys! i'm trying all of them, haha, no one understands my determination! both movies sound so cool and im also a big dunst fan. i think i will get an imdb pro account i just hope it has the information i need or that's kind of a waste! but im going to email/call the production companies, closed set or open set, i'll be there! and ajrscreenworks that stories awesome!

Kev,

I have a PRO account, so if you give me the names of the movies I can look up the location shoots for you (if any).

AJR

Ah really! Thanks!
Upside Down (2011)
Source Code (2011)

not sure if they'll be up, but thanks!

Kev,

Source Code is up - all it says though for location right now is Montreal. It does say "production is scheduled for early 2010"...

Nothing with Upside Down and a recent date. Keep reminding me on these and I'll check periodically.